Everyone loves sliders. The ingenious child of a burger, the faithful companion for game night.

But given that I don’t eat pork or beef, my choice in sliders has been rather limited – not to mention disappointing. Save a rare few places that serve chicken sliders, I have come across close to zero options for anyone wanting a vegetarian slider. If there can be a veg burger, then why not a slider?

So in my quest to quench this craving, I decided to devise a patty that would work in a bun. There are several ways to make a vegetarian patty, most common being potato or mixed vegetables, but that’s boring. I went with lentils & eggplant. Healthier, almost oil free, and rather easy and quick, these also worked very well as appetizers. In fact, we ate most of them before the sliders were put together!

Roast the eggplant on a stove or oven (400 degree F for 20-25 minutes) till it collapses and the skin can be easily removed. Remove the skin and seeds, mash the eggplant and keep aside to cool.

Heat a teaspoon of the oil in a non-stick pan. Stir-fry all the ingredients, except the oats, for a few minutes till they are well mixed. You could also put them in a blender, but I am a fan of texture so I prefer not to. Remove from heat and cool completely.

Once cooled, mix in the rolled oats and form 6-8 circles with your hands - approx 2 inches in diameter. Pan-fry them in a non-stick pan with the remaining oil, till they are evenly browned on both sides.

Use as patties for healthy veg sliders, or as an appetizer on their own!

For an oil free version, simply mix all the ingredients and bake the fritters for 25-30 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 375 degree F. Make sure you turn them once in between so they brown evenly.

Shuchi cooks with the heart of a poet. Banker turned chef, she runs the 29. Private Kitchen in NYC focusing on social tasting events, dining experiences and small-scale private events. Using simple & wholesome ingredients, she likes to re-invent homemade Indian flavors into modern tapas & small plates.
Her dream? To cook, feed, write, and eventually open her own communal dining cafe - with a published recipe book on the stands.

Hi Ariel, sorry to hear that! Did you ensure the lentils were completely dry? As you can see from my pics, mine held their shape but perhaps I should have emphasized that the ingredients must be very dry once you’re done stir frying them. As for the eggplant, very surprising since I use this technique almost every week to make curried eggplant! Was it a large one? Try roasting on the stove next time, it collapses very quickly. Don’t be afraid to let the skin char, as the only time an eggplant doesn’t mash easily is when it’s not fully roasted/cooked. Hope this helps.

Hi, i just made these delicious patties! Thanks for sharing the recipe! I added a little more curry and peppers, since we like spiced food. I made it in the oven and it turned out a bit too dry. Do you have any idea how come? I fried all the ingredients before, until it was a dry mixture, let it cool and then mixed it with the oats. After that formed the patties and put them in the oven. Any idea how to get them a little less dry? Thanks!

Hi Madelon, thanks for giving them a shot! They might have been a bit dry as I tend to keep the oil on the low side to keep it healthy. Add another few dashes of oil to the mix or a couple of teaspoons of sour cream next time to add moisture. If you want to keep low on the fat, then tomato paste works too. Or simply reduce the of oats to 2-2.5 tablespoons as they tend to soak moisture. Hope this helps!